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In the "Language of Flowers", the thistle [[Burr (fruit)|burr]] is an ancient Celtic symbol of nobility of character as well as of birth; for the wounding or provocation of a thistle yields punishment. For this reason the thistle was subsumed as a device of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the highest order of Scottish chivalry.
In the "Language of Flowers", the thistle [[Burr (fruit)|burr]] is an ancient Celtic symbol of nobility of character as well as of birth; for the wounding or provocation of a thistle yields punishment. For this reason the thistle was subsumed as a device of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the highest order of Scottish chivalry.
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Another story is that a Viking attacker stepped on one at night and cried out, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.visitscotland.com/guide/scotland-factfile/scottish-icons/the-thistle|title=The Thistle |accessdate=2007-10-16 |publisher=VisitScotland}}</ref> Whatever the justification, the national flower of [[Scotland]] is the thistle - either ''Cirsium vulgare'', ''Cirsium acaule'', or ''Onopordum acanthium''. It is found in many Scottish symbols and in the names of several Scottish football clubs.
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Another story is that a Viking attacker stepped on one at night and cried out, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle.<ref>[http://www.visitscotland.com/guide/scotland-factfile/scottish-icons/the-thistle VisitScotland: The Thistle]</ref> Whatever the justification, the national flower of [[Scotland]] is the thistle - either ''Cirsium vulgare'', ''Cirsium acaule'', or ''Onopordum acanthium''. It is found in many Scottish symbols and in the names of several Scottish football clubs.
==Place names==
==Place names==
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*''[[Silybum]]'' – [[Milk thistle]]s
*''[[Silybum]]'' – [[Milk thistle]]s
*''[[Sonchus]]'' – Sow thistles
*''[[Sonchus]]'' – Sow thistles
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{{commons|Cirsium|Thistles}}
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Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are rarely also called thistle include:
Plants in families other than Asteraceae which are rarely also called thistle include:
*''[[Salsola]]'' – Saltwort, tumbleweed or Russian thistle (family [[Amaranthaceae]])
*''[[Salsola]]'' – Saltwort, tumbleweed or Russian thistle (family [[Amaranthaceae]])
== Notes and references==
== Notes and references==
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{{reflist}}
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<references />
[[Category:Asteraceae]]
[[Category:Asteraceae]]